Brad Holmes and the Lions look like geniuses after signing Cade Mays, the steal of free agency so far

What a steal of a contract for the Lions

Kole Noble, Mike Payton
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Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers center Cade Mays (64) runs on to the field before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Coming into the off-season, the one thing we all knew the Detroit Lions needed was to find their next center. On Monday, they did that. Former Carolina Panthers starter Cade Mays is planning to sign with the Lions

Let’s talk about the absolute steal the Lions got on this contract with Mays

Three years for $25 million is an insanely good deal for the Lions. Considering that Tyler Linderbaum reportedly wanted $25 million a year and wound up getting a three-year deal worth $81 million from the Raiders. Man, the Lions come out smelling like roses on this one.

Mays played 793 snaps for the Panthers in 2025, and he allowed just 13 pressures and no sacks. He had a pass blocking grade of 67.6. For comparison’s sake, Linderbaum had a 63.4 pass blocking grade last year and allowed 26 pressures and two sacks.

The big difference here is that Linderbaum is an elite run-blocker with a grade of 83.7, and Mays had a 53.8 grade in that category in 2025. He was much better in 2024 and 2023, though. You can also chalk up the fact that the Panthers just didn’t have a very good run game.

The only real concern with Mays is that he’s only been a full-time starter for one of his four seasons in the NFL. He proved to be good at it, but you have to have some small concern that he might have just overachieved in Carolina. Right now, that is a very small concern, though. He played very well for the most part.

We talked with our Panthers contributor Kole Noble about Mays, and here’s what he had to say:

“Cade Mays was a sixth-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2022 and served as a depth player, fringe starter at guard and center. He made 27 starts in four years and logged 1,708 offensive snaps. He really came into his own as a starting-caliber center during the 2025 season after Austin Corbett went down due to injury. Mays allowed zero sacks on 476 pass blocking snaps with a 98.5 pass blocking efficiency that ranked 11th among centers with 400+ pass blocking snaps. Teams looking to make Mays a full-time starter will be taking a gamble, considering that’s not a role he has much experience at, but the upside is there. Mays was one of the expected priority re-signings for the Panthers, but the market he got pushed him out of the team’s price range and into a situation where he can show what he can do as a full-time starter.”

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